Driving mechanism for cotton carding machines



C. B. ADAMS March 15, 1960 DRIVING MECHANISM FOR COTTON CARDING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 23, 1957 IN VENTOR a. (PM ,1.

ATTORNEY March 15, 1960 c. B. ADAMS 2,928,139

DRIVING MECHANISM FOR COTTON CARDING MACHINES Filed April 23, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 3o INVENTOR g omz BJMMS,

ATTORNEY United States Patent DRIVING MECHANISM FOR COTTON CARDING MACHINES Carl B. Adams, Rock Hill, S.C.

Application April 23, 1957, Serial No. 654,492 3 Claims. (Cl. 19-98) The invention relates to improvements in cotton carding machines.

A primary object of the invention is to provide a compact and simplified drive mechanism for the cylinder of the revolving-top flat card, said mechanism including a driving motor and an automatic slip coupling, capable of driving the cylinder at exactly the required rotational speed, and applying the proper starting torque and running torque to the cylinder at all times.

A further important object is to provide an improved driving means for cotton cards, which will eliminate the cumbersome overhead belt drive to the cylinder through the loose and tight pulleys on the card cylinder.

A further object of the invention isto provide a driving mechanism for cotton cards which may be installed readily upon substantially all existing cards without major alterations of the same, merely by the removal of the present driving pulleys and associated belts, and the application to the shaft of the card cylinder of the present slip coupling and associated elements.

- A further object is to provide drive means for cards which requires no adjusting, after installation, and adapted especially to supply the required starting and running torque and speed to the card cylinder.

Another important object is to provide drive mechanism of the above-mentioned character which eliminates entirely obstructions to the flats of the card,cau sed by the old belt arrangement, and thus facilitating frequent grinding of the flats without disturbing the drive means in any way.

A further object is to provide card driving mechanism of'the above-mentioned type which may operate in a forward or reverse direction,'-thus facilitating the grinding of the clothing on the main and doffer cylinders.

Another object is to provide card driving means including' a pulley for operating the hand card stripper when desired.

A still further object is to provide card driving mechanism which is housed for the purpose of safety, and which occupies a minimumamount of space upon the card, and which is reliable and eflicient in operation, easy to install and maintain and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

Other. objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

a Figure l is a partly diagrammatic side elevation of a revolving-topflat card with the improved drive mechanism applied thereto, parts omitted for the sake of simplification.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary plan viewof the card and Figure 5 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on A line 5-5 of Figure 4.

In the drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention, thenumeral 10 designates a revolving-top flat card, as a whole. The card 10 is of well known construction,

embodying card sides 11,one of which is shown in Figure l, and the revolving main cylinder 12. The usual licker 13 is driven by gearing from the opposite end of I the cylinder, not shown, and a small pulley 14 on the licker shaft drives a crossed belt 15, in turn engaging and driving a barrow pulley 16, compounded with a gear 17, driving a doifer gear 18 of the usual dofier 19. This construction is that of any conventional revolving-top fiat card, and .is well known to those skilled in the art.

The drive mechanism of the present invention drives or operates the shaft 20 of the main cylinder 12, and replaces the usual belt drive means and the loose and tight pulleys, etc., of conventional cards.

The drive mechanism of the present invention comprises a rigid motor mounting bracket 21, bolted at 22 to the adjacent card side 11. The bracket 21 has a horizontal motor supporting plate 23 integral therewith, and upon which an electric motor 24 is suitably rigidly mounted, near and beyond the adjacent end of the cylinder 12, and somewhat above the cardside 11, as' shown; In practice, a one and one-half horsepower electric motor has been found suitable to deliver the proper torque and. rotational speed to the card cylinder, through the slip coupling and gearing, to be described.

The motor 24 has a relatively small drive pinion 25 secured directly to its armature shaft 26, and extending beyond the'end of the motor 24, outwardly of the end of the card cylinder 12, Figure 4. The drive pinion 25 meshes directly with a large gear 27, formed directly on a first driving slip coupling member 28, asshown. The slip coupling member ZS embodies a generally flat wheel or disc portion 29, vertically disposed in operation, and a central hub portion 30 integral therewith. The disc portion 29 is provided upon its inner face with a plurality of circumferentially equidistantly spaced guide ribs 31, integral therewith, between which are freely mounted radially shiftable slip coupling elements or shoes 32, which slip coupling elements are arcuate and wedgeshaped radially, as shown in Figure 5. The outer circumferential faces of the slip coupling shoes 32 are covered with suitable friction linings 33, as indicated. The hub portion 3021s viewed in Figure 5 has a corresponding number of flat faces 34 formed thereon, preferably provided with centering recesses 35 for radial compressible slip coupling springs 36, the outer ends of which engage the slip coupling shoes 32 for urging the latter radially outwardly into frictional engagement with the inner face of the annular rim portion 37 of a coacting slip coupling member 38. The ribs 31 serve to guide the slip coupling shoes 32 and to prevent the same from rotating relative to the driving slip coupling member 28.

The slip coupling member 38 comprises a generally' flat disc portion 39 integral with the annular portion 37 and disposed in covering relation to the shoes 32 and ribs31, Figure 4. The slip coupling member 38 further embodies a central hub 40 integral therewith and'projecting inwardly toward the card cylinder and mounted upon the cylinder shaft 20 and preferably keyed thereto at 41, Figure 4. The hub 40 has a forward extension 42.

integral therewith, projecting into a bore 43 formed through the hub portion 30 of the mating slip couplingmember 28, and journaled therein for rotation'by suitable; ball bearings 44. The slip coupling member 28 carries.

Patented Mar. 15, 1960' entry of dirt into the bearing chamber, Figure 4.

It should now be apparent that the companion slip coupling members 28 and 38 are mounted for relative rotation, by the construction described and shown particularly in Figure 4. The slip coupling member 28 is directly driven by the motor pinion 25, and the slip coupling member 33 is keyed to the shaft 2% of the card cylinder 12 to drive the same; The slip coupling shoes 32 and their springs 3-5 maintain a constant and even frictional connection between the two slip coupling members 28 and 33, and until the total friction afforded by the several shoes 32, is overcome, a positive driving connection between the motor gear 25 and the cylinder shaft 20 is afforded by the automatic slip coupling. If the desired torque, upon the shaft 2% is exceeded, or if the card cylinder 12 becomes choked up or overloaded, the slip coupling elements and 33 will slip relative to each other, so that greater than a predetermined desired torque cannot be transmitted through the slip coupling. Also, whenever the slip coupling is forced to slip by excessive torque, the electric motor-24 will become overloaded to an extent which will cause automatic electrical means, not shown, and forming no part of this invention, to stop the motor before any damage to the same can occur. w

The reduction or ratio through the pinion 25 and gear 27 is'such that exactly the desired rotational speed will be imparted to the card cylinder 12, which in practice on certain cards, is 178 revolutions per minute. Also, the automatic slip coupling will transmit exactly the desired torque to the shaft 29 of the card cylinder, during starting of the latter and also during the normal operation of the card. If excessive torque at starting should be developed for any reason by the motor, the slip coupling will slip, or should the card overload or choke up during operation, the slip coupling will slip, as previously stated. The above is one of the chief advantages of the present drive mechanism over the conventional belt drives of present day cards. With the belt drives, it is impossible to obtain uniform torque upon the card cylinder, and uniform rotational speed is also difficult to maintain. Furthermore, when the card cylinder becomes choked, there is no specified load at which the conventional belt drives will yield or slip, and some damage is likely to occur. These diificulties are fully overcome by the use of the present slip coupling and associated elements of the present invention.

A further feature of the invention is the provision upon the slip coupling member 2% of an integral outer pulley extension 46, to accommodate the drive rope 47 of the well known hand card stripper 48, which is periodically used upon the card for stripping or cleaning the doifer. The hand card stripper is not, however, a permanent operational part of the card, and during normal operation, the stripper .8 and the rope 47 are not employed uponthe card it).

For the sake of safety, a guard d9 for the motor pinion 25 and gear 27 of the slip coupling is provided. This guard comprises upper and lower substantially semicircular separable guard sections St? and 51, rigidly secured together in assembly as shown at 52. The guard 49 completely encloses the large gear 27, and has a side extension 53, as shown, enclosing the drive pinion 25. The outer side of the guard has a large opening 54 formed therethrough, to allow the pulley extension 46 to project forwardly ofthe guard as clearly shown in Figure 2.

52, whereas the lower guard section 51 is rigidly connected with and bodily supported by the arm 55, which The motor support bracket 21 has a depending lateral lower guard. section 51 by removal of the fastener means in turn is rigid with the motor support bracket, as stated. The guard also preferably has a split tubular hub portion 58 upon its inner side, receiving the hub 40 of the slip coupling member 38. The entire guard 49 is of course stationary relative to the slip coupling, the guard being carried by the stationary arm 55.

In operation, the electric motor 24 having the pinion 25 on its armature shaft 26 drives the-slip coupling gear 27, and the first slip coupling member 28 frictionally drives the companion slip coupling member 38 through the medium of the shoes 32 and associated elements. This transmits the desired torque and rotational speed in either direction required to the shaftZt) of the card cylinder 12, to operate the latter. The licker 13 is driven from conventional gearing at the remote end of the card, not shown, and through the medium of the crossed belt 15, pulley l6 and associated gearing, the doifer 19 is driven at the desired rate and in a direction opposite to that of the main card'cylinder 12. The overhead belt and the conventional loose and tight pulleys upon the car cylinder shaft are entirely omitted, and the flats of the card are entirely unobstructed and may be ground as desired without interference with any driving belts or the like. Additionally, as previously pointed out, the improved driving mechanism is highly compact, positive in action and always supplies the correct torque and will slip automatically when overloaded. Obviously, the frictional strength of the slip coupling may be changed if desired by the use of heavier or lighter springs in the same. Once installed, the drive mechanism never requires adjustment or lubrication, and the sturdy guard renders the same entirely safe and neat in appearance. The drive should greatly outwcar the conventional card driving means. The single bracket 21 supports the drive motor 24 and the entire guard assembly 49, and the slip coupling and gearing elements are housed within the guard, except for the pulley extension 46 which facilitates using the hand card stripper.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. The combination with a revolving top fiat card including a main rotatable cylinder, a shaft carrying the cylinder, and a frame upon which the shaft is mounted,

the cylinder extending above the frame; of a permanently automatic slip coupling device for driving the shaft in cluding a rotary disc mounted upon the shaft, an annular flange carried by the disc at its periphery and extending axially beyond the disc, at second rotary disc arranged adjacent to and axially of the first rotary disc and including a second axially extending flange receiving and rotatably mounted upon the first annular flange, the second annular flange having exterior gear teeth upon its periphery, friction elements mounted upon the second disc inwardly of the first annular flange and arranged to contact with such first annular flange, generally radial guide ribs mounted upon the second disc and receiving the friction elements between them to prevent the fric-.

including an armature shaft carrying said gear; means;

to mount the motor upon the frame; a casing enclosingthe slip coupling device and gear; and means to mount 7 the casing upon the frame, the periphery of the maindrum extending radially beyond and above the casing.

2. In a machine of the character described, apermanently automatic slip coupling device including a first 5 5 rotary disc having a hub portion to be mounted upon a driven member, a first annular flange carried by the first disc and extending axially beyond the same, a second rotary disc arranged adjacent to and axially of the first rotary disc and spaced therefrom to form a chamber, the second rotary disc including an annular flange extending axially of the second rotary disc and in an opposite direction to the first annular flange and receiving the first annular flange therein, the second annular flange having exterior gear teeth upon its periphery to engage with a driving gear, means to rotatably mount the second rotary disc upon said hub portion, friction elements arranged within said chamber inwardly 0f the first annular flange to contact therewith, generally radial guide ribs rigidly mounted upon the inner face of the second disc and receiving the friction elements between them to prevent the friction elements from rotating with respect to the sec ond disc, springs engaging the inner ends of the friction elements to move them outwardly. a

3. In a machine of the character described, a permanently automatic slip coupling device including a first rotary disc to be mounted upon a driven member, a first annular flange carried by the first disc and extending axially beyond the same, a second rotary disc arranged adjacent to and axially of the first rotary disc and including a second annular flange receiving and rotatably mounted upon the first annular flange, the second annular flange having exterior gear teeth upon its periphery to engage with a driving gear, friction elements mounted upon the second disc inwardly of the first annular flange and arranged to contact with the first annular flange, generally radial guide ribs rigidly mounted upon the inner face of the second disc and receiving the friction elements between them to prevent the friction elements from rotating with respect to the' second disc, springs engaging the inner ends of the friction elements to move them outwardly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,146,065 Greer et a1. July 13, 1915 1,297,367 Lamb Mar; 18, 1919 1,447,390 Kuchars'ki Mar. 6, 1923 2,116,192 Draminsky May 3, 1938 2,196,716 Williams Apr. 9, 1940 2,791,305 Hansen et a1. May 7, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 317,934 Great Britain Aug. 29, 1929 OTHER REFERENCES Mechanical Engineers Handbook, Text Book, edition by Marks, published by McGraw-Hill BookiCo, Inc., N.Y., copyright 1952. Pages 897 (only Figure 64) and 898. (Copy available in Division 21.) 

